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Promising Practices

The Promising Practices database informs professionals and community members about documented approaches to improving community health and quality of life.

The ultimate goal is to support the systematic adoption, implementation, and evaluation of successful programs, practices, and policy changes. The database provides carefully reviewed, documented, and ranked practices that range from good ideas to evidence-based practices.
Learn more about the ranking methodology.

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Youth Empowerment Program (Manchester, NH)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Employment, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to give Manchester area youth tools to earn their GEDs and meet their career goals.

Youth Opportunity Baltimore (Baltimore, MD)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Literacy, Urban

Goal: YO! Baltimore helps young people, previously disconnected from traditional learning environments, to increase their wage earnings and education credentials.

Youth Speaks (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Literacy, Teens

Goal: Youth Speaks aims to empower youth and effect change through written and oral literacy.

Youth Villages YVLifeSet

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Teens

Goal: Youth Villages helps children and families live successfully.

Youth with Disabilities Demonstration Project (Seattle, WA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment

Goal: The overall objective of the project was to identify and provide additional support and services to those youth, ages 14-21 enrolled in WIA-supported youth programs with mental health care needs.

YouthBuild McLean County (McLean County, IL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children

Goal: The McLean County program's mission is "to offer young people a once in a lifetime opportunity to build their futures and their communities through education, leadership development, job training, and the rehabilitation and production of affordable housing, while keeping a profound respect for and a commitment to real partnership with youth."

¡Salud! Services (Hillsboro, OR)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goals of Salud Services are to:
-Promote wellness and prevention
-Value cultural beliefs
-Promote health and safety in the worksite
-Be a cultural broker for the clients
-Collaborate with other agencies

New York Avenue Metro Station Corporation (Washington, DC)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Transportation, Urban

Goal: The key objective of the initiative was to promote sustainable, transit-oriented, mixed-use economic and community development that would promote investment, create jobs, attract and expand businesses, raise incomes, reduce poverty, stabilize and improve housing and neighbourhoods. The main strategy was to develop three key industry networks: media/publications, information technology/telecommunications and the entertainment industry in the NoMa area.

The Tri-State Stroke Network

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke

Goal: The goal of the Network is to increase public awareness about the signs and symptoms of stroke.

Providing Educational Enrichment for Students Expelled from Traditional School Settings (Indianapolis, IN)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Opportunity School is to provide educational enrichment for middle school (6th - 8th grades) students who have been expelled from standard school settings.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.

A Good Idea meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
  2. The program evaluation is limited to descriptive measure(s) of success/accomplishment (i.e., program participation rates, number of services/education sessions/radio messages provided). Note: oftentimes, the program has been newly implemented and a program evaluation has not yet been conducted. Programs that have not yet been evaluated, but which show promise in improving health or quality of life, are classified as Good Ideas until an evaluation is conducted.

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.